The season is drawing to a close for Manchester United and they have played their final game at Old Trafford amidst protests from certain sections of the fans due to issues about the ownership of the club. The season has been disappointment after disappointment and there has been little to cheer for Manchester United with the club in disarray, will Erik ten Hag change things for the better?
The 2021/22 season
Having gone through more managers once again and crashed out of the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League without a whimper, the season has not gone well at all. Humiliating defeats to rivals, limp performances against weaker sides and a general discontent in the squad has made newly licensed UK bookmakers quite rich with many considering United to be challenging for the title following signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
It looks likely that United will grab a Europa League place rather than that of the newly formed Europa Conference but it is still not the Champions League that they really want.
Why are the fans unhappy?
Aside from a general feeling that the Manchester United squad is not good enough and players are coming to Manchester United for a pay day rather than playing for the badge, the ownership has really frustrated the fans.
Outsiders looking in will thing that Manchester United fans have nothing to complain about with the club nowhere near collapse like that of nearby sides like Bury, Oldham Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic have all experienced the thought of going bust or in fact having to start a new club again.
However, this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. There may be money available to spend in each transfer market but it is not the money of the Glazers nor is it spent in the correct way. United have spent over £1 billion in transfers since they last won the Premier League and there has not even been a sniff of challenging for the title despite finishing 2nd twice.
The structure of the club is run by greed and business men who want to make as much money as possible rather than looking at the footballing aspects. Old Trafford itself is a great example of how the club is, a permanent fixture that everybody knows but in dire need of regeneration.
Is ten Hag the man to change it?
The United hierarchy have tried all sorts of different options from serial winners with a distinct philosophy to club legends taking the reins at Old Trafford. With the newly appointed ten Hag you have a man who is hands on and wants control to work with his side rather than signings being made to boost shirt sales.
Having experienced success with Ajax both domestically and also on the European scale, ten Hag comes in with high hopes but as per usual needs to be given time. One of the more toxic problems United also has is the social media following where pages like Twitter rule off players and managers within 5 minutes of seeing them.
With interim boss Ralf Rangnick moving into his consultancy role and having worked with the side, he knows who the bluffers are in this side. Together they can work on the footballing side of things but they have to be trusted by the board that they will be making the right signings.
With a complete overhaul expected at Old Trafford there could be ample opportunity for the younger players to be seen and with a final coming up next week in the FA Youth Cup it could be the ideal chance to impress Rangnick and ten Hag for next season.
